Below are the basic segments of ONE LESSON with an example (next are the possible formats and technologies to use to create the lesson pieces.)

WHAT

WHY

Opening message

This is a brief intro. State the purpose of the lesson and what students can hope to achieve at the end of it. This will focus and prepare their minds for learning (aka advanced organizer).

Instructions

This is the most detailed section. Keep the steps very direct with lots of instructions. Have too many instructions? Then make a second lesson. Remember to focus on your ONE lesson goal and just teach that.

Examples

Provide stories, ‘how to’ videos or images of what you are trying to teach. Students LOVE examples as it provides them with a visual representation and something to model after.

Activity

You gotta get them to do something otherwise it’s just passive learning and is not effective. But instead of giving them the dreaded worksheet, have them do a small task or step to try before filling out worksheets or creating something. If your students feel successful with the bite-size activity then they will attempt the larger one.

Support

Add some kind of support, like a community to share ideas, a FAQ sheet to find common questions with answers, or a way to provide them feedback on their work/progress.

ONLINE COURSE TECHNOLOGIES

WHAT

FORMATS

TECHNOLOGY

Opening message

This can be a simple paragraph at the top of a course page or PDF. Keep it short, and bullet what they can expect to do at the end of the lesson.

Instructions can be spelled out in a list or chart using text. However, to give instructions more depth provide illustrated steps using images or visual chart, deeper explanations via text, video as demos and checklists to follow. If this is a course about personal development, provide advice on overcoming inevitable blocks.

Chunk your instructions into vital steps with white space around them so each step is visible, accessible and easy to find again.

Bite-size activity: This could be as simple as 2 or 3 paragraphs encouraging them to do something small offline. Or provide reflection questions to think about. It could also be a quiz to check their knowledge or perceptions with auto feedback.

Main exercise: The purpose of the exercise is to get them to achieve the one lesson goal. Recall that? This could be in the form of steps to print off in a checklist, a template to fill in, deadline to meet, opportunity to perform, web treasure hunt, project to complete, etc. Provide the tools and resources for them to engage with the activity.

Feedback: By far getting feedback is the most demanded need of students to understand if they are getting it right. This can be submitting work to you for feedback, sharing work with a community, getting results from a quiz, comparing to modelled examples, introduced to another feedback source (i.e. journal editor.)

Community: Having a group of like-minded people to share questions, ideas, work and resources with is vital. However, there are so many groups out there so ensure that adding another to your student’s’ plate is effective. Perhaps make it a short-term online group.

Be sure to share your experiences in creating your first lesson by commenting below! Also, don’t forget – you are also welcome to share in my e-Learning ROCKS! Facebook Group, too!
It’s a great place to get feedback and extra support.

Find out what you need to build your next e-course

Dr. Kelly builds learning journeys, not just online courses. Her course designs take students through a rich experience integrating a range of modern technologies with ol’ school methods and human contact. Read More